AS YOU WILL now probably have realised, the 39th annual G8 summit is taking place in Northern Ireland over the coming days.
The G8 is a divisive body – acknowledged by some as a casual forum for the world’s leaders to discuss matters of mutual concern, while derided by others for being ineffective and for excluding important nations (China, for example) in their affairs.
One of the most pressing questions about the G8, however, is its relevance – with many arguing that there are now so fewer international superpowers, that any power remaining in the hands of ‘powerful’ nations is diluted to the point of irrelevance.
To help readers decide whether the G8 still has any clout any more, here is a reasonably (though not fully) comprehensive list of the topics that the various summits of the G8 (or G7, or G6) leaders have discussed.
The countries listed beside each year are the host nations, which are responsible for setting each year’s agenda.
1975 – France (G6 summit)
1976 – US (Canada joins, becomes the G7)
From 1976 onward, the European Community was represented by the President of the European Commission. In later years the President of the European Council has also attended.
1977 – UK
1978 – West Germany
1979 – Japan
1980 – Italy
1981 – Canada
(1981 marked the first time that the President of the European Commission became a formal attendee; in previous years they had merely been invited.)
1982 – France
1983 – USA
1984 – UK
1985 – West Germany
1986 – Japan
1987 – Italy
1988 – Canada
1989 – France
1990 – USA
1991 – UK
(USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev attended this year’s event, leading it to be gubbed ‘G-Eight-and-a-half’ because of the presence of USSR and EC representatives.)
1992 – Germany
1993 – Japan
1994 – Naples
1995 – Canada
The 1995 summit was the first to have its own dedicated website.
1996 – France
A ‘pre-summit’ was held in Moscow to deal solely with nuclear safety concerns. Boris Yeltzin’s prime minister Victor Chernomyrdin was invited to the G7 proper, along with the heads of the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation.
1997 – USA (Russia joins, becoming the G8)
1998 – UK
1999 – Germany
2000 – Japan
2001 – Italy
2002 – Canada
2003 – France
2004 – USA
2005 – UK
2006 – Russia
2007 – Germany
2008 – Japan
2009 – Italy
2010 – Canada
2011 – France
2012 – USA
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